By Khalid Bennett
The Seattle Medium
Even after a 3-0 start to the season, The Huskies still look to improve. A lot has been made about Washington’s non-conference schedule and whether or not it adequately prepares them for Pac-12 conference play. This year, the Huskies’ non-conference schedule is very similar to 2016. With Rutgers, Montana, and Fresno State, the Huskies have outscored their opponents 141-37 going into this week’s match-up in Colorado.
Colorado is the team Washington faced in the Pac-12 title game in 2016. Although they may not be as good as last season, they may certainly be better than their last three opponents.
“We know it changes now, it changes dramatically. The level of competition, going into a truly hostile environment where we haven’t been yet this year,” says UW Husky Head Football Coach Chris Petersen. “We’ve been a long way but it’s not going to be the same as going to Boulder.”
Washington’s defense has been very good in the first three games leading the conference in total yards and turnover margin. Three more takeaways on Saturday put them at plus-7 in that category.
Quarterback Jake Browning was very efficient against Fresno State as he completed 19 of 22 passes for 255 yards and 4 touchdowns. The efficiency in the passing game, and the amount of carries, or lack thereof by junior running back Myles Gaskin has made some fans wonder if the running game is still a point of emphasis for this offense. When asked about whether he was happy with the running game, coach Petersen responded with “yeah, we did some good things…their guys were packed in there so we were able to get the ball to the edge. If guys are going to pack in there, we’re going to throw the ball.”
Gaskin fumbled the football on Saturday which according to Petersen was “very disappointing.” Prior to the fumble, Gaskin had carried the ball over 500 times without a fumble in his career. Even though Gaskin has led the team in rushing the last two seasons, Lavon Coleman has emerged as a very efficient back that Petersen and the coaching staff have utilized more this year than in his previous years in the program.
“It could be a good wake-up call going into a hostile environment,” said Petersen on the Gaskin fumble.
Gaskin understands the importance of ball security.
“Maybe I might have to do a few extra push-ups this week,” stated Gaskin after the game.
